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@joel_austen
New project time! I’ve never really jumped on the mainstream retro mtb bandwagon, I think my couriers are just on the fringe of that, so I wanted to build something based on an early 90s frameset. There will be a twist to this project that many will balk at, it will probably push the build into anti territory, but we’ll see.
So the thread is playing catch up somewhat as I already have 90% of the parts needed. I’ve not yet assembled anything however so I’ll try and set the scene from when I started out. The bike is going to be a utility bike, with simplicity, robustness and reliability being the main criteria for all component choices. Aesthetic perfection is also not the goal here so it won’t be a NOS project. It will be based on functionally good condition parts saying that.
The starting place was the frame set, I needed a quality steel frame and fork, pref early 90s geo, with clearance for 2.2ish slickish tires, with good wide set chain stays and seat stays (more on this later), and a rear drop out design that allows something to be bolted flat to it on the axle from above, with nothing to interfere with (like cowled dropouts, seat stays welded on top on the drop out etc (more on this oddity later too).
For the wheels I wanted something absolutely bombproof, with enough width to provide some good support for a 2.2” tire. There was never really any doubt for rim in my mind, I wanted some Mavic D521s in 36h. These are mid 90s but close enough to the age I wanted. The hubs were more open to what I could find. In my mind I wanted to run 3x8 shimano, so needed to be a standard shimano free hub. I want bolt on solid axles on both wheels though so some thought is needed.
The group set needed to fit the criteria already mentioned, but as I wanted to incorporate a ‘retro mtb’ element to this I was thinking along the lines of early Shimano XT or DX. No STIs, no discs, no hydro, no plastic etc. Indexing is desirable though, even though I quite like the friction shifters on both my couriers I want SIS on this. You get the picture. When I set out on this build the only component I already had earmarked was a pair of XT PD-M730 platform pedals. These were on the first courier, but after being rebuilt ended up back in the parts box, waiting for a more suitable project.
Finally finishing parts, no real wish list here other than compatible parts that are the right fit and size, are roughly age correct, and are not cheep shite. The only thing I already had is a slightly tatty original Turbo saddle, which will do just the job.